UPDATE: The '80s Series II I was bragging about here:http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/8801.html?1079926573 is at last on its' way. Annoying bit A: my birthday is today (6.22) and the bass won't arrive until tomorrow (6.23), when I have to work late into the night and will be forced to suffer with headphones when trying it out. Annoying bit B: FedEx was supposed to send me an e-mail when the package was scanned upon departure, which hasn't happened, so I have no way to track its' progress across the US. Grrr. Please pray with me during my 48-hour heart attack, and I'll let you all know my reactions when she arrives. It's been five years almost to the day since I owned an Alembic, and anticipation is running high.

Pray? OK, here goes... "Oh, great and wise members of Club Alembic, we are gathered here on this monumental and most glorious of days to help Brother KFS in his hour of need as he awaiteth the delivery of his beloved Series II. May he be relieved of the unbearable stress that he is experiencing as a result of said purchase, and may his most precious cargo be received quickly, and in good condition. Amen"

Hope that helps, but if your stress is like my stress was 7 months ago, you may need a bit more assistance (like a few belts of good 20 year old Scotch). Congrats and best of luck.........

Yes; but Chris's mic should probably have a lot of reverb and maybe a little delay. And maybe a percussion player should be hired to strike a large bell every ninth beat. Wait, I just remembered, I've got a bell somewhere buried in the basement; forget hiring a percussionist, I'll cover the bell striking.

"And a great feeling of well-being spread over the land, as the long awaited journey of our brother's newest family member has reached a joyous conclusion. Rejoice, fellow members, for your prayers and well wishes have contributed to the wondrous and sacred union of a man, and his guitar. Hallelujah!"

Shawn, I know you're not reading this because you're playing but good for you. I'm glad that wait is over and you are having a second go with Alembic. I did enjoy the thread, kinda reminded me of Paul the AAARRRGGH one, aka Angelboy. Wonder where he got off to.

Well, I'm back. Had a short 45 minutes to play plugged in between blocs of work...wow. Just, wow. My other basses will be gathering a lot of dust, especially after I get this balance problem licked--dela, I don't know how you play yours with a nylon strap! I borrowed such a strap from another bass and put it on the Alembic, and it was sooo uncomfortable. Other than that, I'll just say to expect a full review after I've had a few days to chew on my thoughts. Thanks for the support, all. The last few days haven't been easy. KFS

Please do not move the strap button!!!!! All the control for the neck heaviness can be achieved by your right forearm. Once you have the position of the body in place, your playing technique will follow. Trust me. I think the strap material/size does make a difference. But, if you balance the body with your right forearm, you will be able to use dental floss for a strap.

I'm hoping a suede-bottom strap will provide enough drag to keep the Alembic mostly in place. The trick worked very well with a Gibson Les Paul Signature Bass I also own, which is, now at least, the second-worst neck-diver I've ever picked up. Rather than move the strap button, I could just duct-tape the strap to the upper bout. That should work OK (laughing).

The strap button is in the best place - please don't make Swiss-cheese in attempting to determine what we've already figured out. We've received several basses for repair with the strap button back in the original place, but with holes for experiments on the upper horn, on the face of the bass, even the lower horn, you name it.

I guess you can see why we don't offer medium and long scale on that body shape, except for dela of course ;)

Don't worry, people! I AM NOT planning to modify this bass at all! It's far too pretty, and I've owned Alembics people had gotten, ahem, "creative" with. I tried slinging it a bit lower today, down by my hips, and that was much more managable balance-wise and back pain-wise. I've got a lot of work ahead of me--this bass feels new, never broken in, and is a little stiff. Such torture (grin).

I use a natural suede strap for all my basses, never had any problem. My short scale Series I has had the strap button moved a little upwards on the neck, and it works fine, but I'd never have done this myself. Not necessary at all!